1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a package for an ink cartridge used in, for example, ink-jet printers, and a method for manufacturing the package.
2. Description of the Related Art
An ink jet printer outputs data by ejecting ink droplets from nozzle holes of a recording head onto a recording medium (e.g., recording paper). An ink cartridge is installed in the printer in order to supply ink to the recording head. Such an ink cartridge is generally replaceable when the ink runs out.
A conventional ink cartridge is filled with a porous material which absorbs and stores ink in it. This ink cartridge has an ink supply hole, in which an ink inlet tube of the recording head is inserted in order to introduce the ink into the recording head. The ink cartridge also has an air hole, in addition to the ink supply hole, in order to keep the interior pressure of the ink cartridge at atmospheric pressure and to smoothly supply the ink from the porous material to the recording head via the ink supply hole.
When shipping the ink cartridges, the ink supply hole and the air hole of each ink cartridge are sealed by sealing tape for the purpose of preventing leakage or evaporation of ink and, then, each ink cartridge is packed in a packaging bag which can be easily opened by a user prior to actual use of the ink cartridge.
However, in this conventional method, both sealing tape and a package are separately used, which increases the number of packaging steps and elements. The amount of trash also increases, which is undesirable for environmental reasons. In addition, when the user replaces the ink cartridge with a new one, the package is opened first, and then, the sealing tape must be peeled off. Such double steps are troublesome to the user.
Furthermore, because the ink supply hole of the ink cartridge is sealed with sealing tape, a portion of ink absorbed in the porous material is likely to stick onto an inner surface (i.e., the adherent surface) of the sealing tape. In this case, when the user peels off the sealing tape, the ink droplets that are stuck to the sealing tape scatter around, and the user and the surroundings may be stained.